Curved panel assembly



April 11,' 1939. G. D. SCHERMERHORN 2,153,596

CURVED PANEL ASSEMBLY Filed May 2.8, 1957 1N VEA/Tok ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 11, 1939 UNITED STATES iATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

This invention relates to curved panel assemblies such as are commonly used as seat panels in folding chairs. More particularly, it relates .to a panel structure which may be fabricated into a curved panel assembly without the employment of expensive forms or shaping devices but with merelythe necessary parts which go to make up the complete panel assembly.

Panels of the character described are commonly formed of wood. They are frequently formed of plywood. The flat plywood panel is bent into the desired shape and form. Heretofore one practice has been to fabricate such panel by placing it in a form or shaping device and allowing it to remain therein until it has permanently taken the shape of such form.

The formed panel may be an assembly which includes metal reinforcing elements. These reinforcing elements may be of curved shape andI they assist in retaining the curved panel board at such shape. These curved metal reinforcing elements may be applied to a preformed panel board.

My improved panel assembly comprises spaced apart side frame members presenting opposed supporting channels adapted to receive opposite marginal portions of the wooden panel. The Wooden panel comprises a plurality of independently flexible superimposed plies. Normally these plies are flat. Several plies are so superimposed as to permit independent relative slidable movement. Such slidable movement may be facilitated by providing friction reducing material between successive plies. Such a number of independent plies are assembled together as is needed to provide a panel of the desired thickness.

This panel assembly of superimposed independently iiexible plies is forced as a unit -into the supporting channels of the curved frame members. The separate plies which make up the panel being independently exible and independently slidable with respect to each other readily follow the curved path of the supporting channels. When assembled between the side frame members the panel is held to itsl curved shape by such members and the several plies have a give and take to accommodate for stresses placed upon the panel.

One meritorious feature of my improved panel resides in the provision of friction reducing material which may be in the form of relatively thin laminations of such material interposed between the independently iiexible superimposed panel plies. rIhe separate superimposed panel plies may each be made up of a plurality of laminations.

Other objects, advantages, and meritorious features of the invention will more fully appear from the following description, appended claims and accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure l is a plan of a pair of spaced side frame members used in my panel assembly,

Fig. 2 is a side view of the structure shown in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken on 3-3 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view taken through the frame structure of Fig. 1 showing a panel being inserted between side frame members,

Fig. 5 is a cross section through a fragment of the complete panel assembly, and

Fig. 6 is a perspective of a panel assembly made up of two plies of laminated wood and an nterposed ply friction reducing material showing such plies in separated spaced apart relationship.

The invention is here shown as embodied in a seat panel assembly for a chair. Such panel is provided with opposed side frame members which are held in spaced apart relationship and which may be made up in the form of a U -shaped frame as shown in Fig. 1. Such frame has side rails Hl channel shaped in cross section as shown in Fig. 3 and a front rail l2 which is continuous with the side rails. The side rails may be held braced apart by the cross members i4. The opposed side rails l are correspondingly reversely curved vor form in shape an ogee curve. The panel supporting channel of the frame is formed by inwardly turned parallel spaced marginal portions IB of the strip which strip is bent to form the side rails as shown in Fig. 3.

'I'he panel unit is made up of a plurality of independent plies. Two independent plies are here shown. 'I'hese are shown specically in Fig. 6 and independent plies are indicated as I8. Each of these plies may be a laminated piece of ply wood as shown in Fig. 5. Fig. shows these two plies in place in the frame Ill. In such figure it will be noted that the two plies are spaced by the thin ply 20 which is also shown in Fig. 6. Each of these plies I8 is shown in Fig. 5 as made up of three laminations.

Each ply may be made up as a laminated ply in a manner well understood. Three or any odd number of laminations may be used and adhesively secured together with the grain of th e wood of one lamination crossing the grain of the wood of the overlying lamination. In the instant construction the two outer laminations would have the wood grain crossing the grain of the intermediate' lamination. Preferably the construction would be such that the grain of the Wood of the two outer laminations of each ply would run transversely across the seat when the ply was inserted therein.

Each of these plies I3 is relatively flexible. The two plies I8 here shown are separated by a thin ply of friction reducing material such as wax paper 20. Instead of Wax paper a coating of wax or other suitable substance might be spread over the contacting faces of the two plies. This facilitates slippage during insertion. These two plies, or whatever number is desired to make up the required thicknesses of the panel, are superposed to form a unit. The plies are independent of each other.

According to one improved process of manufacture this unit is then forced into the opposed channels of the frame members I as shown in Fig. 4. With the several plies being free to flex independently of each other and to slip with re- Spect to each other it is relatively easy to force this unitary plural ply assembly into place through the channels without the exertion of a great deal of pressure thereon. If the several plies were fastened together so as to form a rigid laminated panel of the thickness of the independent multiple ply panel here shown it would be substantially impossible under any ordinary pressure that could be applied to it to accomplish its insertion. Such a panel would not flex sufciently easily to enter the curved guides. Upon the pressure of insertion being made high enough to accomplish itsV insertion breakage and twisting of the panel would result. As here used, however, the two plies are adapted to slip with respect to each other so as to accommodate themselves to the required curvatures and they bend easily during insertion within the channels.

What I claim:

l. A laminated panel assembly comprising, in combination, a pair of connected side frame members each provided with a channel portion adapted to receive the marginal part of a panel, said side frame members being arranged in spaced apart relationship with their channel portions facing each other in a curved plane, and a laminated panel having opposite edges seated within the facing channels of said frame members, said panel consisting of at least two relatively slidably superimposed independent exible plies.

2. A laminated panel assembly comprising, in combination, a pair of connected side frame members each provided with a channel portion adapted to receive the marginal part of a panel, said side frameV members being arranged in spaced apart relationship with their channel portions facing each other in a reversely curved plane, and a laminated panel having opposite edges seated within the facing channels of said frame members, said panel consisting of at least two independent superimposed relatively slidable plies separated by friction reducing material.

3. A laminated panel assembly comprising, in combination, a pair of connected side frame members each provided with a channel portion adapted to receive the marginal part of a panel, said side frame members f being arranged in spaced apart relationship with their channel portions facing each other in a curved plane, and a laminated panel having opposite edges seated within the facing channels of said frame members, said panel consisting of at least two independently flexible superimposed plies separated by a thin ply of friction reducing material.

4. A chair seat comprising a seat frame having a pair of connected spaced apart parallel frame members provided with opposed channel portions facing each other in an ogee curved plane and adapted to receive opposed marginal portions of a seat panel, a seat panel having opposed marginal portions positioned within said channel portions o the frame, said panel consisting of at least `two independently superimposed relatively slidable plies separated Vby friction'reducing material, each ply consisting of a plurality of Wood laminations permanently secured together, the outer laminations of each ply in the assembly having its grain extending transversely of the seat. Y

GEORGE D. SCHERMERHORN. 

